BANGKOK: Thai athletes will be bidding to burnish the kingdom’s reputation with more medals when the 2024 Games kicks off next week
Thailand has won 35 Olympic medals – 10 gold, 8 silver and 17 bronze – since debuting at the 1952 Helsinki Games.
The first medal came 24 years later when boxer Payao Poontarat stepped onto the Olympic podium at the 1976 Montreal Games after winning bronze in the men’s light flyweight.
Boxing has become a symbol of hope for Thai people ever since.
Thailand’s boxers continued to shine on the Olympic stage, with Dhawee Umponmaha winning silver at the Los Angeles edition in 1984, Phajol Moolsan punching to bronze four years later in Seoul, and Arkhom Chenglai grabbing another bronze at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics.
At the 1996 Games in Atlanta, US, all Thai eyes were on Somrak Kamsing, a super-talented Muay Thai fighter who had switched to boxing.
Somrak thrilled millions of Thais watching back home on TV as he fought his way to a final against the legendary Serafim Todorov. The Bulgarian featherweight had etched his name in the history books earlier in the competition by becoming the only boxer to defeat Floyd Mayweather Jr.
Somrak fought the fight of his life to score an 8-5 victory and win Thailand’s first-ever Olympic gold medal. He has been a hero among Thais ever since.
The Atlanta Games was also the first time Thailand won more than one medal, with boxer Vichairachanon Khadpo taking bronze in the bantamweight category.
More boxing success came four years later at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, where Wijan Ponlid won gold in the men's flyweight and Pornchai Thongburan won a bronze at light middleweight.
But Sydney also saw Thai weightlifters heave themselves into the Olympic spotlight. Khassaraporn Suta won a bronze medal in the women's 58 kg category, making history as Thailand’s first female Olympic medal-winner.
Thailand achieved its biggest medal haul at the 2004 Games in Athens, Greece with three gold, one silver and four bronze medals. This time, Thai weightlifters were the stars, winning two gold and two bronze. Thai boxers, meanwhile, won a gold, a silver and a bronze medal.
Yaowapa Boorapolchai also became the first Thai to win a medal outside of boxing and weightlifting when she kicked her way to a bronze in the taekwondo 49 kg category.
Boxing, weightlifting and taekwondo are now Olympic beacons of hope for Thai people following a series of victories at the last four games. Thai athletes collected six medals (2 gold, 2 silver and 2 bronze) at Beijing 2008, four medals (2 silver and 2 bronze) at London 2012, and six (2 gold, 2 silver and 2 bronze) at the Rio De Janeiro Olympics in 2016.
Thailand also made history at the 2020 Tokyo Games, with flyweight Panipak Wongpattanakit becoming the first Thai taekwondo athlete to win an Olympic gold medal. Sudaporn Seesondee won a bronze in women's lightweight boxing as Thailand collected two medals in Tokyo.
Thai athletes will be hungry to achieve more glory on the Olympic stage when the 2024 Games kick off in Paris next week.
The whole country will be watching as the Thai flag flies in French arenas from July 26 to Aug 11. - The Nation/ANN
